


The Problem With Retiring

by Sherlockedancer



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Feelings confessed, M/M, Retirement, Stubborn Sherlock
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-14
Updated: 2015-07-20
Packaged: 2018-04-09 06:23:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4337327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sherlockedancer/pseuds/Sherlockedancer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John knows that both he and Sherlock aren't getting any younger. He begins looking into homes for them to move and retire to. Sherlock is being his normal stubborn self and refusing to look into any other homes. Prompting John to offer a different option in which both discover their feelings for each other are stronger than the previously had thought.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

John stopped the car, putting it in park and leaving the engine running.  
"You getting out?"  
Sherlock let out an overly dramatic sigh, crossing his arms and turning to look out the window.  
John sighed,  
"Fine, I'll be just a minute."  
John got out of the car and crossed the street looking up at yet another house he was considering for their imminent retirement. No matter how much Sherlock protested, John knew what was going to be best for them. Sherlock wasn't getting any younger and running around London was becoming a bit much. The search to find a new place to live began about a week ago, when John and Sherlock had left town for a case. Before they returned to London John had taken a brief detour to show Sherlock some houses. Sherlock had supposedly hated them all, however John knew that it wasn't the houses Sherlock hated. It was the idea of slowing down and moving away from the busy streets of London. Sherlock absolutely hated the idea of settling down. He argued that his mind would rot and he would die of boredom. John reassured him that both were impossible and that they would find things to keep them busy. But as of present, Sherlock was still having none of it. So once again John was left standing alone, looking at another housing option. With one last look over he grabbed a flyer and crossed back across the street, getting back in the car. Sherlock sat silently, still glaring out the window, refusing to speak or make eye contact.  
John offered him the flyer,  
"If you change your mind I grabbed a flyer."  
Sherlock refused to take the paper and John sighed, tossing it on the back seat.  
The ride back to the flat was filled with silence and a sulking Sherlock. John didn't try and hold a conversation, he just stared at the road ahead, completely straight faced. When they finally arrived Sherlock was quick to get out of the car, letting himself into the flat and slamming the door, apparently not wanting to wait up for John. John got out of the car and began walking away from the flat, deciding to give Sherlock some space and to pick up some dinner for the evening. As John walked he couldn't help but feel at a complete loss as to how he was ever going to convince Sherlock to move, let alone retire. John had known Sherlock for so long, they had lived together most of John's adult life (except during the Mary incident) and he had never considered living on his own, especially now in his elderly age. But with Sherlock's stubbornness recently John began to think of what it would be like to live without Sherlock. His heart ached with the thought. Sherlock was such a dear friend, and in John's mind, someone who was more than a friend. John truly loved Sherlock, even the experiments in the kitchen that where never ending, and his tendency to leave body parts in the fridge. John used to become frustrated with the detective, but now Sherlock's annoyances only seemed to make John smile. How could he possibly live without Sherlock? Did Sherlock feel the same? Maybe that was the key. Maybe, John thought, maybe he needed to pitch the idea of leaving and living on his own, and from there he could monitor Sherlock's reaction. John nodded decisively and paid for his take-away, noting his usual senior discount. The walk back to the flat was much quicker, John was anxious to talk to Sherlock and see what his thoughts were on their situation, or as John liked to think of it, their relationship. Entering the door to 221B John called for Sherlock, unable to find the detective in the kitchen or on the couch lost in his mind palace. Finally he noticed the door to Sherlock's room was closed. He set down the take-away on the counter and walked to Sherlock's room, lightly knocking on the door.  
"Hey, Sherlock, you in there?"  
A non-committal grunt came from the other side of the door and John let himself in. The detective laid completely sprawled out on his bed in his pajamas, staring blankly at the ceiling.  
"Hey, what's up?"  
Once again John was met with a grunt so he stepped forward and sat on the side of Sherlock's bed, moving his hand to stroke through Sherlock's surprisingly thick and springy curls.  
"I've been thinking about this whole retirement thing and moving to a different house..."  
John paused to monitor Sherlock's reaction and this time he was met with a groan as the detective turned away from John.  
"I know you're not too keen on retiring, but I know that personally I'm definitely ready for that stage in my life. I don't want to force you into anything though, so if you're all that upset about retiring, I can just leave on my own. You can have 221B to yourself and I'll live somewhere outside of London, somewhere a bit more comfortable."  
John once again stopped to look at Sherlock, this time the detective was quiet and since he was turned away, John had no way of seeing his reaction. A few silent minutes passed and Sherlock continued to silently face the other direction. Finally John stood and sighed,  
"I picked up take-away, it's in the kitchen. If you have an opinion about what I've just told you, feel free to tell me, otherwise I guess I'll start looking into moving out... Alone."  
The last words stung John, he couldn't believe Sherlock refused to speak up. He never thought the detective would be that fine with John just leaving, after all these years. John had actually begun to think that the two of them had something special, an unbreakable bond. John fought back the tears that moistened his eyes, he was too old to be worried about feelings like this. He grabbed his take-away and went to his bedroom, staying there for the rest of the evening.


	2. Chapter 2

Once Sherlock was confident John had left the room he rolled back over, staring at the spot where John once sat. There was no way Sherlock could live without John. John was his center, his gravity, and his heart. Sherlock figured his time was nowor never, he needed to make John realize that the two of them should never be apart. Sherlock listened for John's footsteps as they ascended the stairs and waited until he heard a door close before getting up and leaving his room. He grabbed some take-away and his laptop and set to work.

Hours past and Sherlock's eyes began to water from staring at his screen too long, he checked the time, it was 3:30 in the morning, he had been researching for nearly 8 hours. Satisfied with his discoveries and his decision, he closed his laptop and left the flat being as silent as possible to avoid awaking John.

John rolled over and stretched squinting to read the clock. It was half past seven and John felt that he had got a pretty decent sleep, enough to allow his head to clear from the night before. He slowly crawled out of bed, running his hand through his hair and yawning as he made his way downstairs. As he entered the kitchen he was surprised at the lack of Sherlock, the detective rarely slept this late. He turned on the kettle and leaned against the counter, running through his proposal the night before and coming up with something to say to Sherlock this morning, that is, if the detective ever showed himself.

An hour passed and John began to worry, maybe Sherlock was more upset at him than he thought. Finally John got up the courage to knock on Sherlock's door. He walked over and stood in front of Sherlock's room, taking a deep breath before knocking and calling Sherlock's name. He waited a few seconds and was met with silence, so once again he tried knocking, giving the detective time to stop John from coming in just in case he wasn't decent. But once again John was met with silence, so he let himself in. Looking around he found himself standing in an empty room, nothing had changed from the night before except the lack of Sherlock. John wrinkled his eyebrows in confusion before turning around to leave, and nearly jumping out of his pants as he was met face to face with Sherlock.  
"Jesus, where did you come from?"  
Sherlock shrugged,  
"I just had some things i needed to take care of."  
"Before 7:30 in the morning?"  
"Some things are best to do while others are sleeping."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter was so short and vague, I promise next chapter will be longer and explain everything. Once again let me know what you think :)

**Author's Note:**

> Next chapter from Sherlock's POV. Hope you like it, let me know :)


End file.
